Reflect on how you teach Korea and the Cold War in your classroom. How would you teach it differently with primary sources?

Now consider these lesson ideas contributed by Primary Sources teachers:

Delve Further Into the Post-World War II PeriodContributed by Jonathan Chu

In reflecting on the workshops, I think teachers could use the primary source documents for a one- to two-week unit to supplant teaching the post-World War II period. Teachers can use additional sources for the unit, such as newspapers, congressional records, and personal histories (Richard Nixon, Alger Hiss, local congressmen, and senators). They can also raise issues about domestic life, how things like education and poverty relief were reflections of Cold War concerns. The following questions can be used to guide student research:

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Which positions were most instrumental in the actual shaping of American policies in Korea?

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Beginning with the Korean War, America entered into an age of dramatic change in terms of its domestic affairs. What were these changes, and to what extent were they effects and reflections of Cold War policies?

"I teach American foreign policy to seniors, and even at that level, with the amount of material, [there] is just a treasure trove of material to use. Now, with the fall of the Soviet Union... it is tough to get them interested. They don't feel the pressure. To them now, it's ancient history." Steven Seto